NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media for his weekly press conference Monday to discuss the win over Clemson plus this coming Saturday's 6 p.m. kickoff against Louisiana Tech in Carter-Finley Stadium.

Here's a full transcript.

"Start with the game, it was an incredible night, afternoon I guess you would say. I want to start just thanking our students and our band, the fans and families of our players and coaches and all the recruits who came and supported the recruits and the staff.

"It was a championship environment. It’s what we need. It's what this team can feed off of, and you guys helped us win that game.

"The energy that was created in the stadium, that is what we talked about here: it's one Pack, one goal. That's our mission statement: United mission to win a championship. We have unity on this team and on our campus and now at the fanbase you guys make us a weapon.

"It's not about who we play, I want to make that very clear, it's about supporting our athletes and our coaches in a mission to make us special and understanding that we have something that other people don't. We have a fanbase that shows up, and not just there but participates to make life really hard on the enemy.

"I think the impact is felt in recruiting. We had over 30 recruits that we've offered at that game. And so you played a huge part in that environment as well, and it wasn't just us. Basketball had recruits there, men's and women's basketball recruits there, was wrestling people and just what you're doing for us, if we can continue to do it, you're going to elevate us even more.

"Putting that out there because I think it's really critical. The way the students got engaged with the music, too. You can hear them singing the songs and it was awesome, man. And the whole thing, it was a lot of fun.

"With the game itself. Obviously you guys know C.J. Clark is out for the year, unfortunately. Had kind of a freakish thing happen in practice just planting and cutting, and injured his knee. Our heart goes out to C.J. He will have surgery this week and have a full recovery. I know he'll work diligently to come back and be a great player for us, but that's three starters now that are out through the year on defense.

"I know our kids will play hard for them, the next man up. Obviously saw Cory Durden taking the role inside and really do something with the game, so proud of Cory. Jaylon Scott's doing that for Payton [Wilson] at Will, Jakeen [Harris] at strong safety. Outside of those things we came out of the game very healthy so that was good.

"In the game, I thought offense and defense really played off of each other and helped each other at really critical times in the game, responded to what happened on the other side of the ball, nobody flinched.

"Our special teams were really up and down. I think we flipped the field with our punt team. We covered punts really well. They had zero yards return yardage in the game. So I was proud of the improvement there. Keyon Lesane at one missile, Anthony Smith at the other. Drake Thomas had two tackles in the open field on our punt team.

"That was big. We won 33 yards field position, hidden yardage we call it. Trent [Gill], all touchbacks on his kickoffs again, two games in a row. He's got to get better with his pin points. We had three points go into the end zone, something he can work on.

You know Chris [Dunn] had a bad night. And Chris is the best field goal kicker I've been around. He's going to bounce back, the coaches and the players, we all have his back and we believe in him and he's going to come back and win a game for us. I know he will. When the season's over, he will definitely have something when you talk about a comeback story. I believe in him, and I'm asking as a fanbase that you do the same, to have his back, because he's a guy that's done nothing but make kicks here since he's been here.

"Our players didn't flinch, they found a way to win and they were physical, and they played with heart and they played with emotion. We made the tough plays we had to make to win the game and I think that's what made the difference in the end, Devin Carter's catch in the end zone from Devin [Leary]. That was a great play.

"Emeka [Emezie]'s catch pinning that ball on his face mask was a great play. The tip pick to Drake was a great play. And they were big for us to make those plays in key moments.

"From a negative standpoint we took a step back in penalty can't category with 11 penalties and nine in the first half. I know both teams had a lot of things because of the crowd noise, probably in the hype of the game, but we made that a closer game than we needed to. The time of possession that we had, the way we were playing on defense on third down, the penalties is what kept them in it, and the missed field goals.

"Positive in that is we overcame it and so super proud of the team for that. Offensively to have 41 minutes time of possession. We actually had 110 plays on offense. Because of the penalties there's only 96 that were graded, but we were balanced, we used our tempo well. We wore them down. I thought our conditioning was fantastic on offense. Our offensive line, those guys play 100 plays and they were fresh they were physical. They were really good.

"Devin Leary played a great game. Four touchdowns, his accuracy, getting rid of the football. He had eight throwaways, all those could have been bad plays. He just got us to the next play. He played tough and he played smart. He was well-coached, and he's got great poise.

"The wide receiver and tight end rooms, I thought were really physical on the perimeter. They battled for each other. They caught the ball well and, made some really tough plays. And I like what we're doing on the perimeter. There's a lot of things happening out there that probably go unnoticed. But a lot of different types of screens, a lot of RPOs, a lot of good motion, hiding things well and being physical, getting in and out of our breaks.

"The running backs both played hard and was physical and protected the football, and I thought Ricky Person's catching the football well, to get some key catches there to move the ball.

"The end of half and end of game drives that we had, both drives give us a chance to score. And I think Dylan Parham, kind of the guy that doesn't get talked about. You want to have fun watching a dude be physical, watch him at tight end. He is knocking people around, number 28, love watching what Dylan's doing.

"Negative, it's just too many penalties and some of that's on us. We tried to hide what we do, because they're so good at getting signals from you and staring at your tendencies and knowing what you're in. We really wanted to keep them off balance and, at times, the clock became a problem with that. We were able to adjust and get through it.

"On defense, we had eight three and outs and a takeaway. We stopped the run, and the only real run play they had all night was a scramble for 34 yards.

"But we rose up. When we fumbled, the next series we were three and out on defense. When they scored the tie the game, the next series we were three and out on defense.

"The D-line I thought really battled, strained. Cory Durden played his butt off and it's good to see Davin Vann get a sack. Savion [Jackson] and Daniel Joseph, those four guys played most of the game in the three spots and really battled for us. We dominated on third down.

"The negatives on defense, the one scramble I mentioned. The penalties, I thought Tanner [Ingle's] taunting penalty was completely selfish and something he's got to take off the film. Got caught up in the moment and he's got to be better than that.

"I think we can play better in secondary. I think at times we tried to do more than we need to do. We just need to play with good technique and play the fundamentals that we coach. Wasn't horrible, but it could be a lot better.

"Special teams, like I said, our punt coverage is excellent. I thought the punt returns from Thayer was good and a dumb penalty by young guy in [Ezemdi] Udoh got caught up in a moment was number 11 from them, and just reacted instead of being smart and mature and he'll learn from that. Joe Shimko continues to do great job.

"Now we move on to Louisiana Tech. Kind of an interesting team, are scoring a lot of points. It really should be 4-0. They lost on the last play of the game to SMU on a pretty freak throw, ricochet play on a Hail Mary and then they had a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter at Mississippi State and lost.

"So a team that has a lot of talent, has transfers in their receiver and running back that are helping them. You score 35 points a game you're going to win a lot of games. Their quarterback Austin Kendall did not play against North Texas. We know Austin well, is a Charlotte native and went to Oklahoma and we played against him up at West Virginia, so he's kind of a journeyman.

"Good football player, kid that we offered and liked a lot in high school. I don't know what his status is, they've kept that on the down-low, but we'll be ready for him and the other two that they played against North Texas.

"On defense, they've given up a lot. They've played both four down and three down. They do play hard. They gave Mississippi State a lot of fits in their opening game. They play hard.

"It's a test of our maturity, bottom line. People are going to talk about trap games and letdowns and all those kind of things and I've already addressed that with the team. We're not going to do that.

"This game is about being better than we were last week. And that's our goal, is to be a great football team and great football teams don't step backwards. It's going to be a challenge. I think for us we have to show our maturity now and our leadership.

"I know we will. I am going to be all over them this week about it. We got to take personal responsibility in our daily excellence around here and every day we got to try to be better than we were the day before.

"As great as that win was and it was, it was special. It can definitely be something that we have for the rest of our lives, but we want to win every game. Next game is the one that you have to worry the most about. And this is the next game, and be very disappointed if we don't come out and play really good football."

There's probably a pretty good chance of school is going to be fine because of fans running out on the field. It seems like it's pretty crazy but I'll let you talk about that if you could.

"Yeah, I don't know what the fine will be ... but it's worth it. I thought it was awesome. And I'm sure there's a donor out there that will help us out if we need him to.

"I thought it was a great environment and it's awesome for the kids and that was a special moment at NC State. If you don't allow people to celebrate in special moments, I don't know what we're doing."

How late into the night did you party and you know when did you finally kind of come down from that win if you have at all?

"That was an accumulation of a lot of misery for me. Definitely a team that has been in our crosshairs for a long time . They are a team that we respect and have played well against and not finish the job against.

"Meant a lot to get that win. It meant a lot to get it the way we did, because man when we lined up to kick the game winner, I'm like, 'This is redemption.' Like this is the exact thing that I wanted to have happen to win this thing and then we go to overtime and then double overtime.

"I mean how much adversity can a team have? So yeah, it's just surreal and to have [wife] Sara on the field with me after and Luke and Connor, my sons. It was special. It was really special."

You got to prepare for different offense and three different quarterbacks. Has it added a little extra stress to your to your defense?

"Well, that’s what it is — it’s week to week. That’s the challenge on defense, is adjusting to what you’re going to defend. They’re good on offense. Their tailback was at App State and was a really good player for them there. They have a receiver from Tennessee. They have a slot that is lightning fast. They’ve got three different quarterbacks that, on film, are throwing it around.

"So it’s going to be a challenge. Like I said, for 3.5 quarters, they got after Mississippi State, and we all know we didn’t play well against that team. This is going to be a game we’re going to have to show up and play. I’ve said this since the first week we started these interviews — it’s not about who we play, it’s how we play. You say you want to be a team that is ranked, you say you want to be a team that has all these things, well you have to play well every single week.

"That’s what we have to do now — just move on."

Does anything change how you guys look at winning the Atlantic Division after clearing such a major hurdle?

No, our goal wasn’t to beat Clemson. Our goal was to win every game we play this year. To be contention to win this league … all we’ve done is move closer to the goal, that’s it. Are we going to savor the victory? Yeah, like I told the team, at the banquet we’ll talk all about it. We had 48 hours to have fun, and now we’re on to Louisiana Tech, and that’s all there is to it.

"We’ve all seen enough football to know there’s a lot of teams out there that don’t handle winning very well. We’re not going to be one of them."

After beating Clemson, you're the highest-ranked team in the ACC in the national polls. Do you look at it as more wide open than ever or do you even think about it?

"Yeah, I’m not even going to get into rankings. It’s about where we finish, first of all. That’s what matters.

"We were unranked last week, and now we’re ranked, and that’s supposed to mean something? We just need to keep winning. Teams that don’t do that are the teams that take losses they shouldn’t take, and we also know when you win a game like Clemson you’re looked at on someone’s schedule a little differently — you get their best. So we know that.

"When we play a ranked team, it’s different. The guys all of a sudden, ‘Oh, my god, we’re playing this guy and this guy.’ You earn that respect by winning those games, then you get people’s best and you’ve got to make sure you give them yours."

Do you see Devin Leary's performance against Clemson adding confidence for him and the offense, and how important is that performance to prove that you can do this against a defense like that?

"I think that’s a big confidence deal for our offense.

"We had a really good game plan, and there were a lot of things in that game plan, and they executed very well. They took to heart the coaching points. We understood they were a really good front, and we had to wear them down on the perimeter, which would allow us then to take it to them in the box. We had to play well on the perimeter for that to work, and the guys did it.

"So they believe in what Coach [Tim] Beck is talking about. They believe in their quarterback, and their quarterback believes in them — and that’s special when you have that. Unfortunately, we had to learn a tough lesson at Mississippi State about being selfless — and I think we’re playing that way now. We weren’t in that game, and that’s made us a better team."

This is the second game where it seemed like you passed early and that opened up the running game. Is that the balance you are referring to?

"Yeah, an RPO offense — which, we have a lot of RPOs — is based on numbers. It’s math, so we’re going to try to put the ball where the numbers aren’t. That allows our O-line to be physical, get off the ball, run block people and hit people, and Devin just counts.

"It’s based on math, so he’s putting the ball in his playmakers’ hands and giving them a mathematical advantage to make plays. If you really look at the game, we were calling runs with passes on them, and he’s taking the ball to where it should go based on the reads Coach Beck is giving him.

Do you worry about in this day and age with the COVID delta variants still going up and we still are dealing with the pandemic about an increase COVID risk from the students rushing the field for your players for the fans, or is it something that you have to make peace with given the fact that we're having sporting events again.?

"We’re 100% vaccinated here … first of all, every player, every staff member. So we're in the best protected place we can be. We're outside, we're not having close contact for very long with anybody. You look at what happened on the field we're getting in and out of there pretty fast.

"I think you should focus more on the fact that NC State won a big game and everybody had a good time and nobody got hurt. Let's just call it a great night, instead of trying to make it into something that wasn't."

Do you double down as a staff maybe on some recruits that you really on that you hope to get, that maybe you're outside the perimeter on them and, and let them know, ‘Hey, look at this win look what we just did?’

"Yeah, absolutely. I mean you go strike while the iron is hot.

"We're going to be in touch with people and people are in touch with us, too. There's kids calling us. And, like I said, there's a lot of recruits there. There's recruits that might be dropped off on us early and now they're back in. There's kids that are going to be very relevant to what we're doing.

"If you didn't like what you saw in that game, this isn't the right place for you. That's, that's all I can say. Our team really played well, our stadium was electric, it was a beautiful day. We all know how great a place Raleigh is live and you showed that kind of game the environment with and that type of performance, speaks for itself.

Bam came limping off the field a couple of times during the game is. Is he okay and what is his status. moving forward this week?

“He just cramped, he's fine”.

Can you talk a little bit more just about the way that Cory played in place of C.J.?

“I was really happy for Cory, first of all. He's done everything we've asked him to do since he got here he's. He's been a tremendous teammate.

"He learned how to play our end position and our nose position. He said it multiple times, he didn't care if he started he just wants to help us win. He wants to be a part of something great. He felt like he had an impact in that game, and we talked during the week about the game plan. He knew the center from a bunch of those camps he'd been to. He was excited about the matchup. He has known him a long time and went out there and played his best, and that's all I wanted our guys to do. It was be the best for that game, and to do it for the right reasons and Cory did that.

"He got off blocks. He's disruptive. He strained. It wasn't just in past protection that he was winning. He was getting off double teams, and he did a lot of good things in that game. He'll learn a lot from that game too, played a lot of snaps. And that'll make him better."

Has he earned the starting position going forward.

“Yeah, he's our starting nose guard now.”

Are you satisfied with the review process, or would you'd like to see it reevaluated?

“I think we all just want them to make the right decision, whatever the process is. You got to leave that to them. I'm hoping that they're being held accountable at the office, and that they're looking at each other's work and making sure things are right.

"But at the end of the day it doesn't matter to me how it's reviewed, it's that they get it right. There's a lot of people looking at these plays that have these conversations between Greensboro and the sideline, I think, and the guy upstairs. So far it's been good for us this year. I'm not sure, is it been bad somewhere else … I haven't paid attention to that.

You and Skip Holtz were hired at the same time before the 2013 season and played each other in the first game. What do you remember about that game and what does that say about you two to be where you are nine years later, meeting again?

“I have a lot of respect for Skip. I've gotten to know one through the Adidas relationship and obviously spent a lot of time in North Carolina and memories of NC State with his dad, time he had an ECU, so you have great respect for Skip and enjoyed getting to know him.

“As far as the first game against them, seems like a million years ago to me right now. Remember our quarterback that we signed and transferred in here Brandon Mitchell got hurt in that game and that was not good, but it was a win and don't remember much else about it.”

The current Louisiana Tech team as a lot of transfers, how close to P5 ACC type simulation game is this? Do you see them as that type of quality team?

“Very good football team … it's hard for me to compare people like that. Watch them on film, they're scoring 35 points a game.

"They're fast. They're well coached, they know what they're doing. There's experience on the field. So, it's going to be a formidable task and for me it's about the skill. They got a lot of guys in the NFL from Louisiana Tech. They put people out every year. So, we got to show up and play really well.

Who moves up the depth chart on defense to second team to take the spot of CJ Clark?

"Cory Durden is the starter and then Josh Harris, Davin Vann will be our guys that rotate in there at nose guard. Davin can play end and nose."

Did you ever consider going for two after the first TD in overtime.

"No.”

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